Rapid Fire September 21, 2012: DoD Damage Comptrol

Pentagon Comptroller Bob Hale told the House Armed Services Committee that he thought large cancellation fees would be largely avoidable in case sequestration was implemented. The Pentagon would focus on lowering quantities and postponing shipbuilding within existing contracts wherever possible. Unpaid furloughs may be part of the mix too.

The Professional Services Council (PSC) wrote [PDF] to Defense Acquisition Undersecretary Frank Kendall to complain about the way DoD is implementing Section 808 of the FY 2012 NDAA, even after the issuance of a revised class deviation [PDF] meant to clarify how the law should be interpreted. Section 808 mandated DoD to issue guidance to the effect that negotiations over FY12/13 service contracts should aim to pay no more than FY2010 rates (our gross oversimplification for brevity’s sake). PSC argues that this is wrongly interpreted as a mandate by some contracting officers. The topic has led to some pretty heated discussions in past months.

Russia is writing off nearly half a billion dollars of Kyrgyz debt in exchange for a 15-year lease extension for its air base in Kant, among other terms. Not quite “forever” as one Russian general put in a few years ago, but a good start. Kyrgyzstan’s change of course on foreign bases is only partial: the USA’s lease for a transit center in Manas is still set to expire in 2014. This follows a massive North Korean debt write-off granted by Russia earlier this week.

US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has approved the use of phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) to inspect carbon steel piping in ships and boats. They claim is it vastly cheaper than commonly-used radiographic testing (RT). PAUT has been put to use to inspect oil rigs in recent years.